A cross-reference of related applications are provided at the end of the Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments section of the present application.
The present invention relates to communication between users in diverse communication systems, and more particularly, to providing a broadband communication system including an Internet Protocol Telephony Network and public switched telephone network.
Present day telephony voice networks, have a network built around circuit switches, end offices, a toll network, tandem switches, and twisted wires. These voice networks are referred to as a public switched telephone network (PSTN) or plain old telephone service (POTS). Due to bandwidth limitations of plain old telephone service (POTS), there is an inherent inability to efficiently integrate multiple types of media such as telephony, data communication for personal computers (PC), and television (TV) broadcasts. Accordingly, a new broadband architecture is required. This new architecture gives rise to a new array of user services.
Further, due at least in part to limitations in the architecture of such telephony voice networks, various features offered by the telephony voice networks are of limited value. For example, although some telephony voice networks offer a call hold feature, typically only a very small number of calls may be put on hold by a party at any one time. A reason for this limitation is that each call on a conventional network requires a certain amount of reserved resources (e.g., a real or virtual circuit dedicated to each call), even when the call is placed on hold. Conventional networks must therefore be designed to have sufficient resources to handle such features as call hold; however, there is a relatively low practical limit to the number of calls that may be placed on hold at any one time. Moreover, conventional telephony systems typically do not provide for call hold unless the call hold feature is implemented via electronics built into the telephone itself.
There is therefore a need to provide an improved call hold feature in a telephony network, and in particular, in the communication system of the present invention. The call hold feature should be available to IP telephony users regardless of whether they are connecting to system using a traditional analog POTS telephone, a smartphone, a multimedia phone, or any other type of telephony terminal.
Aspects of the invention include to providing broadband access capabilities or enhanced services for use in conjunction with a packetized network such as an Internet Protocol (IP) based system infrastructure.
Other aspects of the invention include providing one or more of the following either individually, or in any combination or subcombination:
a new broadband architecture;
broadband network capabilities, including local access; and
enhanced services for use in conjunction with a packetized network such as an Internet Protocol (IP) based system infrastructure.
For example, an aspect of the present invention is directed to apparatus and methods for placing a call on hold in a way that significantly reduces the amount of network bandwidth utilized by the call while the call is on hold. While the call is ongoing, a customer premises equipment that is a party to the call may receive via the IP telephony network a first request to place the call on hold. The customer premises equipment may temporarily stop from sending the stream of IP packets into the IP telephony network responsive to receiving the request. The customer premises equipment may then receive via the IP telephony network a second request to remove the call from hold. Responsive to receiving the second request, the customer premises equipment may resume sending the stream of IP packets into the IP telephony network. Thus, when a call is placed on hold, embodiments of the architecture of the telephony network of the present invention allows the network to essentially xe2x80x9cforgetxe2x80x9d about the call placed on hold. In other words, a call that is on hold may require very little, or even zero, bandwidth within the telephony network. Accordingly, the total necessary bandwidth capacity of the telephony network may be smaller than it would be if calls on hold were to consume precious network bandwidth as is found in existing telephony systems.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the party who places the call on hold may send, or xe2x80x9cpush,xe2x80x9d information to another party while the other party is on hold. The party who placed the other party on hold may designate the type of information that the party on hold will receive while on hold. For example, the party on hold may receive music, a tone, and/or a recorded message. Alternatively, the party on hold may receive multimedia information (e.g., including animation/video) to be presented on a personal computer monitor, a videophone, and/or a display of the party""s broadband residential gateway (BRG). This feature is very useful for small business owners because infomercials may be sent to the customers while they are on hold.
In a further aspect of the present invention, an IP telephony user may place a call on hold by entering a feature code from a terminal such as a POTS telephone. The user would thus not need to upgrade to a telephone that has a built-in call hold feature in order to place calls on hold. The user placing the call on hold can later retrieve the call that is on hold by, for example, entering the same or a different feature code and/or speaking a voice command.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, the user may be provided with a xe2x80x9ccall on holdxe2x80x9d reminder after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since a call has been placed on hold (and/or repeatedly at a predetermined time interval). The call on hold reminders may be, for example, the user""s voice or a computer generated voice including the name of the party on hold.
According to yet a further aspect of the present invention, the party that is on hold may make a one-way interruption directed to the party who placed them on hold that they are still on hold, or to initiate a network prompt to notify the other party that they are still on hold.
Although the invention has been defined using the appended claims, these claims are exemplary and not limiting to the extent that the invention is meant to include one or more elements from the apparatus and methods described herein and in the applications incorporated by reference in any combination or subcombination. Accordingly, there are any number of alternative combinations for defining the invention, which incorporate one or more elements from the specification (including the drawings, claims, and applications incorporated by reference) in any combinations or subcombinations.